"self-service networking" allows users to create their own virtual networks, subnets, routers, etc., where as the "provider networking" does not allow users to create new virtual networking components and allow them to use only the ones that are predefined by the provider.
As the document also points out, "self-service networking" provides more options and is a superset of options available with "provider networking"; but, it also entails a bit more setup.
original from: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/36747239/what-is-the-difference-between-provider-network-and-self-service-network-in-open